The
public has been waiting for 18 years, sometimes not so patiently, for
opportunities to hike, bike and ride horses on Coast Dairies, and, for a
much shorter time, on San Vicente Redwoods.

To answer our questions about plans for those lands, we will have two
speakers, at our Jan. 13 Annual Meeting: Bryan Largay, Conservation
Director of the Santa Cruz County Land Trust, who is in charge of the
public access plan for the 8,500–acre San Vicente property; and Sky
Murphy, an Environmental Protection Specialist with the Bureau of Land
Management’s Hollister Field Office, which manages the 5,800-acre Coast
Dairies.

The first public trail (current plans call for controlled access once or
twice a month)and parking lot on Coast Dairies is under construction in
the property’s southwest corner. People are concerned there has been
insufficient study of the terrain it transverses. That area and the rest
of Coast Dairies underwent an environmental study in 2001 not intended
to be particularly detailed, and it wasn’t.

Meanwhile, plans about how to open San Vicente Redwoods have been
undergoing changes, and Bryan will present the latest thinking about
trails, timing and access.

Public use of both these properties will impact traffic, parking, fire
safety and law enforcement in Bonny Doon, so we look forward to getting
our questions answered and, just as importantly, letting the agencies
which control these two huge preserved properties know our concerns
about overuse and other issues.

North Coast Rail Trail to Roll Out

At
a cost of $2 million a mile, the 5-mile rail trail from Wilder Ranch
State Park to a parking lot near Panther and Yellow Bank beaches will
provide bikers and hikers with a path from Santa Cruz’s western boundary
to Coast Dairies, near where BLM is building the first public trail,
with a parking lot on the pasture north of and above Laguna Road.

The project, which should be done in 2018, will make it a lot safer for
people to access the North Coast beaches and Coast Dairies, though
people will have to cross Hwy. 1.

Funding will come from a $5 million federal grant, $950,000 from the
state’s Coastal Conservancy Agency, and much of the rest - $3 million -
from the Land Trust of Santa Cruz, which is conducting a fundraising
drive. More here.

Other sections of the planned 32-mile rail trail along the County’s
coast are either under construction or planned to be soon, including one
in Watsonville and Santa Cruz. Although some portions will run along
city streets, such as West Cliff Drive, the North Coast section will
largely follow the rail line. There will be an 8-foot wide paved path
alongside the tracks, which one day may carry a regular train, and 18
miles of paved and unpaved spur trails.

The Santa Cruz Regional Transportation Commission, which owns the rail
line, is planning to put a half-cent sales tax measure on the 2016
ballot to fund the rail trail, highway improvements, other road, bike
and pedestrian improvement projects and public transit. The tax would be
collected for 30 years. After losing a ballot measure to fund Hwy. 1
widening in 2004, the RTC is hoping that this time there will be enough
support for each of the projects that the measure will get the required
2/3 vote.

Coast Dairies: Will Supervisors Live Up to Their Word?

Earlier this year the Board of Supervisors voted to support the
designation of the 5,800-acre Coast Dairies property as a National
Monument, if certain conditions were included in the Congressional Act
or Presidential Proclamation creating the monument. Several of those
conditions are not in the Congressional bills introduced earlier this
year by Sen. Barbara Boxer and Cong. Anna Eshoo. Those bills are stalled
in committee and are practically assured of being buried by the
Republican majority.

However, the language in the bills is typically followed in any
Presidential Proclamation creating national monuments under the National
Antiquities Act.

If the Supervisors (and the Santa Cruz City Council, which passed a
similar measure) don’t have their conditions met, the RBDA Board thinks
they are duty- and honor-bound to withdraw their support of monument
status.

Specifically, the bills do not meet the following conditions:

• That a management plan, specific to that property,
be finalized within three years of the monument designation; and public
access limited until the Bureau of Land Management, which owns Coast
Dairies, completes the plan, and secures long-term funding to assure
adequate management.
• That the plan be specific to Coast Dairies. (The
bills attach Coast Dairies to the California Coastal National Monument, a
marine area not even contiguous to Coast Dairies, which is inland of
Highway 1.)
• That Coast Dairies be subject to the National
Environmental Policy Act and go through a California Coastal Act
consistency process.
• That stewardship, access, traffic and safety
concerns be comprehensively addressed prior to intensive public use.
• That local fire and rescue services are not
overburdened, that watersheds and natural resources are sustainably
managed, and traffic hazards and impacts to adjacent private properties
are intentionally addressed.
• That a plan coordinating federal, state and local
emergency and law enforcement services be developed and a fee for
emergency services on the property negotiated.

The Wilderness Society earlier this
year issued a report on how underfunded are National Conservation
Lands, which includes national monuments. Congressional
Republicans have blocked increases in funding to keep up with inflation
over the last few years. All those protected lands share a budget of
only $66 million, which comes to only a bit more than $2 per acre! So
much for the Coast Dairies monument campaign’s claim that national
monument status will bring more money and protection for Coast Dairies!
We have pointed out many times, and the campaign has admitted, that the
property is already completely protected from development, and that the
only benefit of monument status, and to them, the meaning of additional
protection, is “more money.”

In a related development, on Dec. 12 the Supervisors voted to go forward
with creating a plan, funded by Sempervirens Fund, to recommend new
uses for the shuttered Davenport cement plant, in concert with the
plant’s owner, Cemex. Presumably this would include using part of it as a
gateway to Coast Dairies and Sempervirens’ 8,500-acre San Vicente
Redwoods property, whose southwestern border abuts Coast Dairies just a
couple of hundred yards from Cement Plant Road.

Interim Commercial Cannabis Law Passed

With
passage of the Medical Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act (MMRSA) in
the fall, the State set up a system to try to gain control of the growing
industry in California, estimated to have over $3 billion in sales. It
gave local governments until March 31 to write their own rules
controlling commercial cultivation, manufacture and sale if they don’t
want to defer to the State rules.
We submitted to the County detailed recommendations for regulation to
reduce the environmental, safety and quality of life impact of
commercial grows in rural communities like Bonny Doon.

On Dec. 15 the Board of Supervisors voted unanimously for final passage
of Ordinance 7.128, an interim regulation to meet the deadline and meant
to be modified in the coming months, which adds to and modifies the
current ordinance, 7.126. Although written by the County Counsel’s
office, much of it came out of and was approved by the Cannabis
Cultivation Choices Committee (C4), whose mandate has now been extended
through June and given a goal of March 31 to recommend changes and
additions to 7.128.

The new ordinance keeps several parts of 7.126 in place, like the ban on
commercial cultivation on properties zoned Rural Residential and on
properties under 5 acres zoned Rural Agricultural. It sets up a
licensing system for smaller grows. It doesn’t deal with distribution
and sales, or larger farms. Supervisor Ryan Coonerty called it “a small
step forward in regulating,” and noted its shortcomings in protecting
neighborhoods and medical pot users. He said medical marijuana
cultivation, production and sales have to be treated and regulated like
every other legal industry so that the general public, youth, patients,
neighborhoods and the environment are protected.

A disturbing aspect of the new ordinance is that it continues to provide
special protections for District 2, despite several supervisors telling
RBDA Board members that they believe regulations should be uniform
across the county.

As the C4 continues meeting it will have to tackle harder issues like
how to keep odors from becoming a nuisance to neighbors; defining a
neighborhood; the differing interests of the many small growers vs.
industrial scale farming; outdoor vs. indoor cultivation, which can
contain odors and protects crops from rodents without the use of poison
and uses less water, but is more energy intensive; whether more than one
resident medical card holder will be allowed to grow on a particular
parcel; and whether, where and how collective grows will be allowed.

There is a lot more to be said about this issue and we will continue following it in the Highlander and here on our website.

Castle House Suit Goes to Court

Should
someone be allowed to use their private home in a residential
neighborhood to host weddings and similar public assembly events for
profit, despite the adverse impacts of traffic, noise, and associated
annoyances? That’s the core issue that will be contested in Santa Cruz
Superior Court on Jan. 28 [Editor’s Note: post-publication the date has
been changed to Feb. 4.] by a group of neighbors, represented by land
use attorney Bill Parkin, who want to overturn the granting of a permit
to the Castle House at 4286 Bonny Doon Road.

The permit was approved by the Zoning Administrator, the Planning
Commission and the Board of Supervisors, under an absurd interpretation
of the Home Occupation ordinance, and the Coastal Commission refused to
assert any jurisdiction. However, the Supervisors voted to stop issuing
such permits under the aegis of that ordinance.

The RBDA Board has continually pointed out the illogic and even
illegality of the Castle House permit approval, which conflicts with the
well-defined and established home occupancy code. While we didn’t keep
the permit from being granted, our stance led to provisions in the
sweeping changes in county land use regulations (now undergoing an
environmental review process) that ban commercial events on residential
properties in the Coastal Zone and on properties under 8 acres. And, as
part of those proposed changes, the Home Occupation ordinance has been
rewritten it so that it can never again be used to permit event venues
in residences.

RBDA Board Election

At the January RBDA meeting members vote for new Executive Board
officers. Three terms expire, and one appointment made by the board to
an open seat has to be confirmed by the members.

Three nominations were made at the November RBDA meeting: David Rubin,
who was appointed to the board last year to fill out an open term that
expires in January; Betsy Firebaugh, who was elected last January for
one year to fill an unexpired term; and Ryan Beauregard. In addition,
the members must approve the appointment of Clay Peters, whom the board
chose earlier this year to fill an empty seat.

In the intervening time, Ryan notified the board that while he was
looking forward to serving the community, he realized that the growing
success of his Beauregard Vineyards business requires a lot more
attention and travel and that it would be difficult to find the time to
devote to RBDA issues that he feels they deserve.

That means that there will be one open seat that will have to be filled
by appointment by the board until the January 2017 annual meeting. With
the many significant issues on the table—the opening to the public of
Coast Dairies and San Vicente Redwoods, the burgeoning growth of the
cannabis cultivation industry, the significant changes proposed in land
use regulations—this coming year will be a pivotal one for Bonny Doon.
If you care about our community and its future, talk to us about serving
on the board. Call one of the board officers at the phone numbers or write to us at board@rbda.us.

Betsy Firebaugh

I have lived in Bonny Doon for
over 15 years, in Santa Cruz County since 1986, and grew up in Monterey
during the 70s. Bonny Doon is a unique and special community because of
the close connection we have with nature. I love the fact that on any
given day the only sounds you might hear are the wind through the trees
or a hawk calling down the valley.

I have seen too many lovely small
rural communities in this area become overrun with housing
developments, tourist buses, conference centers, shopping centers and
traffic. It happens slowly, and before you fully realize it. I have long
admired the proactive work the RBDA does to keep the community
informed, and advocates for our continued quality of life. We must
continue to actively work on ensuring that Bonny Doon stays rural,
working within the community, with elected officials. I am honored
to continue serving on the RBDA board.

Clay E. Peters

I am new to the Board, am a
native of Santa Cruz, live in Bonny Doon, and have owned property here
for over a half-century. I 100% support keeping Bonny Doon Rural
and Natural, and coincidentally, this phrase has constituted the core
dedication of my entire life’s relationship to public lands management
and our care of the planet.

I have spent my total career and
professional life working for, in and with our national park system and
preserving our outdoor environment. Twelve years of that was in
the House of Representatives, where I was hired by and worked for Cong.
John P. Saylor, the father of the Wilderness Act of 1964.

I believe I have written more
policy into federal law for the national park system than anyone,
including the mandate that carrying capacity constitutes the central
management concept for three federal land management
systems: national parks, wild and scenic rivers, and trails.
I am currently passionately advocating the adoption of the
carrying capacity concept for the entire planet, although it might be
too late (ask me)!

I have helped establish many new
units of our national park and wilderness preservation systems; helped
write the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act; co-conceived
and served on a Presidential Commission on Americans Outdoors and
authored its central recommendation; served as Executive Director of a
national coalition of the country’s principal environmental
organizations to recommend hundreds of environmental policy
recommendations to the President; created the “Preserve” nomenclature
(there are now 17 within the national park system); and located the
wilderness boundary line on the walls of Yosemite Valley.

I love and cherish Bonny Doon!

David Rubin

I moved to Bonny Doon 16 years
ago with my wife Michelle. I am a geologist who has worked on
sedimentology problems for 40 years, first at the US Geological Survey
and now at UCSC. My two current projects are interpreting the
geology of Mars viewed by the rover Curiosity, and advising the Interior
Dept.’s Bureau of Reclamation about how to operate Glen Canyon Dam to
restore sand bars in Grand Canyon. In the late 70s, I and a USGS
colleague led a marine geology survey offshore of Humboldt Bay, where we
discovered an active earthquake fault. As a result, the Nuclear
Regulatory Commission permanently closed the nuclear power plant nearby.

Because of my professional experience, I am particularly concerned about
environmental issues in Bonny Doon, such as the heavy use of water and
toxic chemicals in commercial cannabis growing, and their impact on
local wildlife and fish in creeks that drain Bonny Doon. I have a
wildlife camera in my meadow, and I would be glad to share my movies of
the coyotes, bobcats, skunks, and foxes that pass through every few
days. My other recreational activities include hiking, welding and
other metal-working projects.

Proposed Bylaws Changes

As we explained in the November Highlander and at the Nov. 11 RBDA
meeting, incorporation of the RBDA requires us to add a few paragraphs
to our Bylaws. While the language changed nothing about the way the RBDA
and its Executive Board function, it is required by the State of
California to be included in a corporation’s Bylaws. The additional
language, in bold type, below, will be added if approved by the membership at the January Annual Meeting. (The current bylaws are here.)

A. The name of this corporation is RURAL BONNY DOON ASSOCIATION(“Association”).

ARTICLE II: OBJECTIVE

B. The
geographical area covered by this organization is the Bonny Doon
Planning Area of Santa Cruz County as of December 19, 1994.

In addition, this corporation is
formed for the purposes of performing all things incidental to, or
appropriate in, the achievement of the foregoing specific and primary
purposes. However, the corporation shall not, except to an insubstantial
degree, engage in any activities or exercise any powers that are not in
furtherance of its primary purposes. This corporation shall hold and may exercise all such
powers as may be conferred upon a nonprofit corporation by the laws of
the State of California and as may be necessary or expedient for the
administration of the affairs and attainment of the purposes of the
corporation. In no event shall the corporation engage in activities that
are not permitted to be carried on by a corporation exempt under
Section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code.The initial principal office of the corporation shall be
located in the County of Santa Cruz, State of California. The Executive
Board may from time to time change the location of the principal office
from one location to another within said county.

Support the RBDA - Renew Your Membership: all
1-year memberships expire on January 31st.

Your continued support enables the RBDA Board to work on issues critical
to Bonny Doon, to hold meetings to educate and get feedback regarding
those issues, and to publish The Highlander newsletter.
Some people may not understand that receiving The Highlander in the mail
doesn’t mean you are a current RBDA member. To reach the whole
community we mail The Highlander to all mailboxes in Bonny Doon.
So unless you joined for multiple years, all 1-year RBDA memberships
will expire on Jan. 31, 2016. To continue to support the RBDA, we need
you to renew now for the 2016 year. Details are here.
Dues and donations go mainly to printing and mailing The Highlander, and
rent and insurance for the public meetings at the school.

Ideas
for RBDA Meeting Topics

We are always open to suggestions for interesting
programs and speakers at our bimonthly (except July)
RBDA public meetings.What are you interested in? Local flora and fauna,
gardening, environmental and political issues, Bonny
Doon history or geology, public safety?What were some of your favorite speakers or
presentations at past RBDA meetings?Were there any that you would like us to repeat?Please email us with your ideas and comments at board@rbda.us.

Bonny Doon's
voice in preserving our special quality of
life,
The Highlander is mailed free to Bonny Doon
residents prior to the
RBDA General Meetings, which are usually
held on second Wednesdays of
January, March, May, July, September and
November.
We encourage you to participate.

Send
mail correspondence to the Highlander Editor
at the above address,
or by email, below.